Moroccan police seize 18.2 tonnes of cannabis resin south of Casablanca

Morocco's police said they seized 18.243 tonnes of cannabis resin in the coastal town of Sidi Rehal, south of Casablanca on Monday. Police arrested five people as they unloaded the banned substance from a truck into rapid, inflatable Zodiac boats, the police said in a statement cited by Reuters. They added that they are investigating suspects’ possible connections with local and international drug trafficking networks.

Morocco has recently stepped up its crackdown on drug trafficking. In March authorities seized 10.7 tonnes of cannabis in the resort city of Agadir on the country’s Atlantic coast. Last June, officials seized 19.5 tonnes of cannabis resin hidden in an octopus shipment bound for Spain.

As a major cannabis producer, Morocco has allowed the cultivation, export, and use of cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes since 2021, but recreational use remains illegal.